So it begins! Arrival Day blew in on a fierce storm in the middle of the night. Along with cooler temperatures (a welcome relief from the past few days), the day brought all of the teens who will be attending TeenStreet (TS) 2019! Dodging puddles with their suitcases, the teens arrived in waves of their country groups. Many are returning for another amazing year, while some are experiencing TS for the first time.
Bianca (16), Nuno (16), and Rebeca Daniela (17) came from Portugal by bus with 55 other people. Travelling the 2,250km from Lisbon took them two days and a night on the bus, stopping only to eat and use the bathroom.
“I talked with my parents about coming to TS after someone asked me to come,” Bianca says. “We all thought it would be a good opportunity to practise my English and to make new friends. So I decided to come, and I’m enjoying myself.”
“I’m most looking forward to the workshops and seminars,” Nuno said. “I’m most interested in the dance ones.”
“I want to learn more about God,” Rebeca Daniela said.
The Faroe Islands are notably one of the largest country groups represented at TS. This year, 400 Faroese will be onsite. Some come by a chartered plane, and some come by ferry. Bárdur and Petra (both 15) left the Faroe Islands at 05:00 on Friday and arrived in Offenburg before noon. Both are attending for the first time and got a day’s head start of everyone else.
“We’ve just been hanging out since we arrived,” Petra said, “exploring and taking in the atmosphere. [During this week,] I am hoping to grow closer to God.”
“It’s amazing here,” Bárdur shared. “Everything is wonderful, and the people are great. Everyone is together; there is no judging anyone. Everyone is the same.”
“So far it feels great. It’s huge, and it’s so nice being around so many people,” Joshua (15) from South Korea-USA said. “Once it’s really started, I’m excited for the worship and going to seminars. It’s my first year. My church introduced TS to church this year. It was brand new, and I thought: ‘I’ll go do a missions trip in Amsterdam and come over to TS in a week.’ My church is trying it out for the first time, so I joined them.”
Filip (14) is attending for the first time with the first Romanian team to come to TS. “Today, we have played the Cajun and guitar, and many people came to sing with us. I really want to meet new people from different cultures, make new friends, and also learn more about God and find some answers to life questions. Oh! And have fun.”
Teens kept arriving all throughout the day, slowly adding to the numbers on campus. As more and more came, the excitement of Arrival Day continued to build. Amid all the greetings to friends and the discovery of new elements around the site, everyone looked forward to the first Throne Room session mere hours away.
